Question

You enter a client's room and the pump reads 45 mL/hour with a volume to be infused of 500 mL. The label on the bag reads lidocaine 2 g in 500 mL of D5W. What dose in mg/min of the lidocaine is this client receiving? (Place only the numerical value in the space provided.)

Answer 1

The client is receiving a dose of 3 mg/min of lidocaine based on the IV flow rate and the concentration of the medication in the solution.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the dose in mg/min of the lidocaine that the client is receiving, we need to use the information provided. The pump reads a flow rate of 45 mL/hour with a volume to be infused of 500 mL. The concentration of lidocaine in the solution is 2 g (or 2000 mg) in 500 mL of D5W (dextrose 5% in water). First, we calculate the dose per minute by converting mL/hour to mL/min: 45 mL/hour ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 0.75 mL/min.

Now, to find the dose in mg, we use the total amount of lidocaine in the bag: 2000 mg in 500 mL gives us 4 mg per 1 mL of solution. Finally, the dose in mg/min will be: 0.75 mL/min × 4 mg/mL = 3 mg/min.